Hello
Looking at previous post of the Forum, I have noticed that lots of people still struggle financially even after entering in an IVA.
I know I am not going to be able to afford lavish holidays etc., but I was hoping/thought that it wouldn’t be as much as struggle every month as I am finding at the moment. I am only at the beginning of my process of applying for an IVA.
I know everyone’s situation is different, I currently have a food budget of 90 a week for a family of four (husband, me, 2 daughters 10 and 17) and that is a struggle then I have about £350 a month left over for petrol, clothes, dinner money and sundries incl. non-food items. A big chunk of this goes in petrol.
We cannot manage on the budget we have now, please tell me it gets better
It was the best thing we ever did finished paying are in Nov 2011. Have no nee for credit or catalogue etc all way have spare money by the end of the month. It take along time before it feel normal and a lot of sacrifice along the way, but it does work. We had are first holiday abroad last year and have just booked and paid for this year too.
All are wages are for spends as we only have basic bills. It al worth it in the end. Just wish we had are closure certificate as we have been waiting for 17 months grrrr. Good luck with you journey.
Hi Slekclarke,
i agree, im looking into IVA's too and have used the stepchange budget tool to get and idea of expenditure allowances and to me they seem generous. I think id be much better off but am really worried about how much people on here are struggling. I even think i might be able to save a bit but i guess im being naive?
Hi I must admit just started an iva and paid one payment but I feel we have a good budget which gives me a set amount of money to live on which is far more than I was living on pre iva. I think it depends on which company you choose, I did a lot of reading on here before I approached the one I am with now, and I know I made the best choice, so good luck whatever you do.
I too have noticed a worrying number of relatively new IVA customers struggling from the word go.
I cannot help feeling that some of these people have under-estimated expenditure, or worse, been encouraged to do so by some of the less scrupulous IVA providers, to make an IVA the 'best' solution for them (and the most profitable one for the company).
To an extent, under-budgeting by the perspective customer is understandable. I remember trying to repay so much to my creditors pre-IVA, that my 'budgets' for everything were unrealistically low, or non existent.
Hence I found the CCCS budget guidelines 2011 quite generous to be honest in some areas, less so on others (notably car fuel, servicing etc.).
So my advice to the OP is download a copy of the 'CCCS budget guidelines 2011' (google it to get a link to the pdf document), and use it as just that - a guide. But make sure you submit as much as you can (the guidelines even allow for luxuries such as hairdressing, sky TV, kids pocket money, hobbies/interests etc. Get that initial IVA payment as low as possible (lets face it, dividends as low as 10p in the £ are not unheard of). This way if you have unexpected 'essential' expenditure one month, you can cut back on a 'luxury' item, and hopefully the process won't be quite so painful.
That's what I did, and it's working well for me so far.
My opinions are just that: Based on my experience and being a self-employed IVA customer.
We are almost at the end of our 3rd month in our IVA's and we don't find it that bad at all but obviously it's early days! Although you do have to budget strictly, it is fantastic that we no longer have the stress of robbing Peter to pay Paul and getting more and more and more in debt. The key is getting your expenditure allowances right in the first place - our IP is Melanie Giles and we feel she has done a great job. We did have a wobble in the first month when we had £130 plumber bill to pay so had a bit of juggling around to do with our other allowances but we have some money left at the end of every month (not much but some) and it is OUR money, not "overdraft money". My husband is self employed so some weeks are worse than others and some days we are scrabbling around moving money from savings (we have a very tiny amount of savings) to pay our bills but over the month it usually works itself out OK. I have a spreadsheet on my PC and I update this at least once a week, sometimes more, recording our income and ALL expenditure, even the £2 that my kids gave to Comic Relief is recorded, so that I can see at a glance how we are doing on a monthly basis. I actually enjoy budgeting like this and it paid off in Lidl yesterday when I was overcharged at the till - I knew this because I go shopping armed with my calculator and they made my total £2 more than I did and when I checked my receipt (which you should ALWAYS do), I found they had double charged me for 2 items. As I said earlier, you have got to get your income/expenditure right in the proposal, discuss this with your IP to make sure it's realistic and then budget very carefully. Sorry I've gone on so long but I feel so passionate about this that I had to comment on this topic (now that makes me sound really sad). Best of luck with everything - we have no regrets whatsoever about going for IVA's and feel we have got our lives back.
Whilst within an IVA you won't live a life of luxury neither should you be struggling to the point of not being able to cope.
Entering an IVA was the best thing I ever did to be fair and don't regret it for a moment. Pre-IVA I paid all my creditors and left myself short for basics like food! Within the IVA I had allowances for things, which was often a luxury to me albeit small things like hair cuts etc!
IVA final payment left the bank on the 26th January 2013...looking forward to a debt free future.
And on the back of slekclarks comment, are u likely to get all these things if u still have a viable amount of money to pay back? Like reccomended food allowance plus an amount for school dinners, work lunches?
I am with GT and find them to be very understanding regarding allowances. Mine were originally agreed through another firm, but were still, I think, generous. Many of the categories listed by CCCS, they went to the maximum, where difficult to quantify .... contingencies, car repairs etc., others they used what I actually spend ( power, insurances, fuel, etc ) and, at my last review they did mention that they felt my petrol usage was a little light --- but that is what I spend ( walk a lot more these days!).
An Iva is a learning curve ....one that will take time to adjust to ....i am sure most people take the first six months to adjust into a living life on a strict budget....there are plenty of ways of saving a little here and there to allow for the occasional treat.
The budget you agree with your IP must be realistic from the outset...it is important that everything is included that can be ....
It is not an easy option...it is hard work fora five /six year period but one you will look back on and be very proud of your actions at the end of it.
I would say for every 10 people that struggle in their IVA there are another 100 that manage their budget.....my best suggestion is to ensure your income and expenditure remains true to life throughout ...remember a review can be done at any time not just at annual review time
Sharing from experiences of dealing with debt
There is a solution for everyone .... Just need to stay positive !
do not accept something that is doomed to failure from the off. Make sure the budget set is acceptable,and manageable. Changes after signing are one thing but agreeing to your IVA firm telling you that your £300 fuel costs a month must be set at £200(for example)is just plain crazy.
An IVA is a wonderful tool if applied correctly,and that means setting the budget right from the start.
You wont have a lavish lifestyle while in an IVA and lets face it why should you?!? That said you should be better off than you were with debts spirralling out of control.
Paul
Discharged today the 8th feb 2012. View is much brighter now.
Continuing to rebuild our credit worthiness.
